Language Arts — Able Island (October 9, 2015) •♦• Inteligentní kolekce s tématy pocitu domova a sounáležitosti. Pohodlně by se vešla vedle kapel jako jsou Belle and Sebastian nebo Alvvays, Caribou, či Braids. Language Arts new album ‘Able Island’ is an homage to Nova Scotia and to the enigmatic Sable Island. Produced by the band (Kristen Cudmore, Neil MacIntosh, they collaborated with Darryl Neudorf on the mix and Peter Moore on the master. Recorded across Canada in a myriad of locations (bedrooms, basements, hotels, clubs, alleyways, cottages, etc.) it was DIY in its truest form.Location: Toronto, Ontario, CanadaAlbum release: October 9, 2015Record Label: MapleMusicDuration: 48:01 Tracks:01. Idea 3:2502. Through 4:4803. With Me 4:2004. Neighbour 4:2105. Secret Worlds in the Dark 4:0706. A Coastline Bungalow 4:3807. Luckiness 4:0008. You Came Knocking 4:1209. Fight or Flight 4:2410. Tonight, At the Campsite 4:2811. Now To Nowhere 5:18℗ 2015 MapleMusic RecordingsPersonnel:•♦• Kristen Cudmore Vocals •♦• Neil MacIntosh Bass•♦• Joel Visentin DrumsCredits:•♦• Produced By Neil MacIntosh, Kristen Cudmore •♦• Mixed by Darryl Neudorf •♦• Language Arts is Kristen Cudmore, Neil MacIntosh, Joel VisentinDescription:•♦• Able Island is the sophomore record by Language Arts — it’s dedicated to their home, Nova Scotia, and is inspired by the mystique of the feral Sable Island.•♦• Recorded across Canada in a myriad of locations (bedrooms, basements, hotels, clubs, alleyways, cottages, etc.) it is DIY in its truest form. Produced by band members: Neil MacIntosh and Kristen Cudmore, they collaborated with Darryl Neudorf (Neko Case, The Sadies) on the mix. •♦• The making of Able Island began in Nova Scotia, in a cottage on the Northumberland Straight and it continued as they made their way across Canada on their national tour. It features the ambience of homemade microphones, wind blowing down the stove pipe during a Nor’Easter, the crackling of the fireplace in the dead of winter, the voices of their audiences on the national tour, and reverb chambers made of large soup pots that they later cooked too much chilli in. •♦• The songs are inspired by the sense of home and belonging. They touch on many deep sentiments like family roots and the mystery of the sea; loneliness and depression; the drifting between waking life and the fantasy of what life would be. A Sable Island carol.ReviewJohn Crossingham♦•♦ Slick precision and lush expansiveness. Not always the most harmonious elements, but Toronto-based Language Arts pairs the two sensibilities with ease. The key is in how leader Kristen Cudmore’s vocals lubricate any possible tension. Curt but empathetic, she sings with a kind of observational bounce — it’s always attentive to the meter, yet still manages to sidestep the traps of appearing too cold or robotic. It helps that the core trio of herself, bassist Neil MacIntosh, and drummer Joel Visentin explore the studio with total abandon. Keys, saxophones, and other auxiliary instrumentation extrapolate expertly on the song’s themes to produce an all–encompassing aesthetic. At times, the ascending layers of sound are superbly dizzying.♦•♦ And yet, for all the textures on display, groove remains a powerful weapon in this band’s hands. Though usually working with uber dry tones, MacIntosh and Visentin employ sharp muscularity to their parts. Occasionally, this does veer into a noisier moment — such as the end of “You Came Knocking” or the crunchy intro to “Now to Nowhere”. But for the most part, like Cudmore, this pair generate power from their fine detail, not overdriven saturation. The result is a collection of songs that would fit as comfortably next to the literate guitar pop of Belle and Sebastian or Alvvays as they would alongside the cut n’ paste beat labs of Caribou or Braids. ♦•♦ Able Island, the band’s third LP, is said to be “inspired by a sense of home and belonging” — despite their lofty, widescreen sonic ambitions, Cudmore’s plainspoken presence does keep it all grounded. Whether singing about pining for added closeness to someone (“Neighbour”) or examining the private dreamscapes constructed around a new love (“Secret Worlds in the Dark”), she is constantly articulate, narrating this world with an astute intellect.♦•♦ This is a brainy collection that still welcomes you in without pretension and loves to dance, too. There’s a ton of pleasures in which to get lost here, but Language Arts keep you tethered to a common theme of finding your place in this world and claiming it. •♦• http://www.newcanadianmusic.ca/ReviewBy Julia Gunst, Published Oct 09, 2015; Score: 9•♦• Able Island is filled with sweetly crafted and ensconcing tunes — you’ll want to wrap yourself in Language Art’s finely textured melodies. With bubblegum–flavoured staccato pops and twists in her voice, lead singer and band founder Kristen Cudmore leads the listener through back alleys and dark rooms. Saxophone makes an appearance on opening track “Idea” and closing track “Now to Nowhere,” setting the tone for introspection. •♦• Despite the daydream air, it isn’t a sombre effort by any means. Often, there is a feeling of buoyancy and release: “With Me” begins with a driving bass line and builds to include layers of shimmering guitar and keys bolstered by recordings of audiences singing, while “You Came Knocking” starts out reserved and controlled, but blossoms into all–out anthem celebrating finding someone who makes you feel at home. The push and pull between static tension and flowing rhythms gives Able Island a sound that’s hard to put one’s finger on. •♦• This is reflected by the choice of Language Arts to record Able Island on a cross–Canada tour. Both the restless nature of travel and the peace it can bring are present in Language Arts’ third full–length album. •♦• http://exclaim.ca/Also:By Sara Mohan, Monday 26th, October 2015 / 16:22•♦• http://beatroute.ca/2015/10/26/language-arts-able-island/Bandcamp: http://language-arts.bandcamp.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/la_languageartsWebsite: http://language-arts.net/Band Email: info@language-arts.netManagement — Brendan McCarney brendan@doubledenimmgmt.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LanguageArts/PRESS MESSAGE:Language Arts • Able Island • October 9, 2015Dear Listener,♦•♦ Able Island is the name of our sophomore record, out on Maple Music Recordings on October 9, 2015. It is dedicated to our home, Nova Scotia, and is inspired bythe mystique of Sable Island.♦•♦ The making of Able Island began in Nova Scotia, in a cottage on the Northumberland Straight and we continued to track the record across Canada on our national tour in 2014, making recording spaces in basements, hotel rooms, alleyways and out of the back of our tour van, to name just a few. With a dizzying state of awareness and weather, we were able to make this record while drifting along the Trans–Canada. It is a true DIY album, made with homemade microphones, capturing the sounds of wind blowing down the stove pipe, the crackling of the fireplace in the dead of winter, the voices of our audiences on tour, reverb chambers made of large soup pots, mixing the album as we drove through the Rocky Mountains. The floating studio made its way to the Muskokas to finish the performances off. We handed the songs to our kindred collaborator, Darryl Neudorf (Neko Case, The Sadies) to handle the mix.The songs were written over a few years. The overall inspiration is of homeand belonging. They touch on many deep sentiments like family roots and the mystery of the sea; loneliness and depression; the drifting between waking life and the fantasy of what life would be ...but it’s not all doom and gloom. It’s about finding your footing in the world, making a legacy or just saying, “fuck it.” It is exploring isolated spaces to find the way (both physically and figuratively) and it is our intense desire to be in a place that we have always dreamt of seeing — Sable Island.We want to thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the ride.Sincerely,Kristen Cudmore (on behalf on Language Arts)For Able Island curious:♦•♦ Able Island was produced by Neil MacIntosh and Kristen Cudmore For the Sable Island curious: Sable Island is a small crescent island made up of white sand and dune grass, situated 300kms south–east of Halifax. It is home to approximately five people and over four hundred wild horses who got on the island due to shipwrecks. It is now a conservatory managed by Parks Canada and also the launch point for our weather balloons. Special permission must be granted to anyone who would like to visit there and people can really only go there for the purpose of research or study.•♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••♦••